Mr Clark was welcomed by staff and students at the internationally acclaimed Loughborough Design School.

After being taken on a tour of the building he met members of The Studio, which helps Loughborough graduates transform their business ideas into commercial success stories.

Mr Clark then visited Loughborough University Science and Enterprise Parks – one of the UK’s largest – which received £2 million Government funding in 2014 as part of the City Deal. Whilst there he was able to view progress on the new Advanced Technology Innovations Centre, currently under construction.

To end his visit to the campus he went to the Energy Technologies Institute (ETI). The ETI is a public-private partnership focused on the acceleration of the development of affordable, secure and sustainable technologies that will help the UK meet its long term emission reductions targets. It is hosted by the universities of Loughborough, Birmingham and Nottingham as part of the Midlands Energy Consortium.